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This collection comprises citizen petitions written to the legislatures of the Wisconsin Territory and later the State of Wisconsin, from 1836 to 1891. At the time, petitions were the only direct means for citizens to communicate with the government.
From requesting dams, roads, and money to build schoolhouses, to recording views on slavery, suffrage, and statehood, these petitions reveal what settlers wished to achieve for their communities, and the ways in which they hoped to connect Wisconsin to the expanding commerce and intellectual life of the United States. These petitions are mostly handwritten in blue and iron gall ink; most petitions comprise a title page, the petition itself, and signature pages.
For more information about this collection, visit its Online Finding Aid and View the Online Collection.
The work of flattening, scanning, and describing these petitions was funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) of the National Archives.
Works
All works are fully transcribed.
Remonstrance against dividing a town in Rock County along the lines proposed in another petition
Petition asking for a divorce for Seth and Lucinda Marquissee
Petition by Lawrence University for expanding its land to develop further programming in agriculture, water power, and the mechanical arts
Petition by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for establishing geological surveys and published reports in Wisconsin
Petition by the Fox River Hydraulic Company for building a lock on the dam at De Pere
Petition for a canal connecting the Milwaukee, Rock, and Bark Rivers
Petition for a Milwaukee free mason lodge to receive certain real estate
Petition for a permanent ferry on the Mississippi River between Dubuque, IA, and the opposite landing in Grant County
Petition for a road that will connect to the Milwaukee, Janesville, and Watertown roads
